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PRE-NORMATIVE RESEARCH ON INTEGRITY ASSESSMENT PROTOCOLS OF GAS PIPES REPURPOSED TO HYDROGEN AND MITIGATION GUIDELINES

Project description

Repurposing gas pipelines for hydrogen transport

Transporting natural gas via metal pipelines has long been the backbone of Europe's energy infrastructure, but decarbonising the energy sector demands a shift to hydrogen. Existing pipelines that are designed for natural gas aren't suited for hydrogen transport, which raises safety concerns. Furthermore, current standards lack the flexibility needed for hydrogen networks, hindering progress. With this in mind, the EU-funded PilgrHYm project aims to develop a pre-normative framework for hydrogen transport. PilgrHYm will assess materials representative of EU gas grids with the aim of refining norms and standards and ensuring safety and reliability. Its results will lay the groundwork for a unified European solution, vital for industry decarbonisation. PilgrHYm heralds a crucial step toward a comprehensive European standard for hydrogen transport, essential for reducing carbon emissions.

Objective

Transporting natural gas through pipelines has been shown to be safe and efficient for decades. However, decarbonizing the European industry and reducing carbon emissions will require a significant portion of the existing pipeline infrastructure to be used for transporting gaseous hydrogen under high pressure across the continent, from production sites to end users. The pipelines, originally designed for natural gas, are not considered H2-ready, and Transmission System Operators must demonstrate their compatibility with hydrogen. The existing standards, such as ASME B31.12 are often viewed as overly conservative and not conducive to the development of pure hydrogen networks.

PilgrHYm is an ambitious R&D project that seeks to develop a pre-normative framework to support the development of a European standard. The project aims to conduct a comprehensive testing program on small-scale laboratory specimens, focusing on 8 base materials, 2 welds, and 2 heat-affected zones that are representative of the EU gas grids. These specimens will be selected after a thorough review by TSOs to address safety concerns, lack of regulations, codes, and standards, as well as research gaps related to the compatibility of current pipelines with hydrogen. PilgrHYm's ultimate goal is to provide quantified data on more than 70% of the EU grid and refine existing norms, codes, and standards by reducing over-conservatism and ensuring the safety and reliability of flaw assessment methodologies.

The results of PilgrHYm will serve as the baseline for a harmonized European solution. This project represents a significant step forward in the development of a comprehensive European standard for transporting hydrogen through pipelines and will be instrumental in the successful decarbonization of the European industry and reducing carbon emissions.

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Programme(s)

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Topic(s)

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Funding Scheme

Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.

HORIZON-JU-RIA - HORIZON JU Research and Innovation Actions

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Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

(opens in new window) HORIZON-JTI-CLEANH2-2023-1

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Coordinator

NATRAN
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 649 437,50
Address
6 RUE RAOUL NORDLING
92270 BOIS-COLOMBES
France

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Region
Ile-de-France Ile-de-France Hauts-de-Seine
Activity type
Private for-profit entities (excluding Higher or Secondary Education Establishments)
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Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 649 437,50

Participants (11)

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